Like a Dog Chasing a Cat
by Kailowyn Illianna Raulnor
Summary: This is about a female khajit Dovahkiin and her adventures and blooming relationship with Farkas and the people around her. As my first story, this was intended to be a short but turned into something I liked, so I'm going to keep putting chapters out. I would love some feedback, just please be gentle. I hope you all enjoy :D


_**A Story about the Dovahkiin and her Journeys**_

**Chapter One**

**Something for the Neighbors**

Kodlak could not believe his eyes. The whelp he had introduced to the Companions was the Dovahkiin. The legendary Dragonborn. In fact, that he could believe. It was what she was holding and how she was dressed. While she was a khajit, she had long slightly curling hair that went to her hips. It was sandy brown, contrasting against her snow colored fur with the dark brown stripes and spots that dotted her coat. She had tied it back in her usual ponytail and woven feathers and gems into it. She was wearing a green dress with design patterns of her home on it. The fabric went to her knees and had obviously been torn to shorten it. She had threaded more gems onto the strands of string dangling. Her jewelry matched. She let out a small purr as the boys stared at her.

"I'm sorry to interrupt if you're in the middle of something," she started with her soft voice, standing in the doorway, "but I wanted to thank everyone for being so kind to me."

She set the platter of fresh baked pastries on the table. Kodlak felt his mouth water. Perhaps he had been correct in letting her join them. She looked tired, despite her beautiful appearance. When he turned to take one off the plate, he noticed Farkas and Vilkas both staring at the girl, who was very deceiving. One moment she was in her leather armor, able to swing a sword harder than Vilkas despite her tiny frame, and the next she was adorned like a princess and behaving like one, manners and attitude alike. She smiled at them, and daintily crossed her arms.

"I just bought the house down the road from here," she motioned with her hands, "I got excited at the thought of living here near everyone and baked a whole lot of things."

Was she… embarrassed by her actions? Kodlak tried to figure the girl out, glancing at her between bites. The meat filled pastry was delicious and juicy, and he found himself making slurping noises. He checked to see if anyone was paying him any mind and found the others were enjoying the food as well. Farkas and Vilkas had taken up both sides of her, and were speaking to her at the same time. She looked overwhelmed but like she was enjoying the attention. He found it odd; Farkas didn't usually say a whole lot and Vilkas usually kept his distance with the new fledglings.

"Would you like to see my new home? I only got a little decorating done… It's kind of sad, I don't have the time right now to do it," she said, shuffling her feet like she wanted to not be in Jorrvaskr.

Farkas looked surprised and immediately said yes in unison with Vilkas, whom he glared at. And Kodlak finally understood. Farkas really liked this girl. It made sense. Whenever they had any quests to perform, Farkas was eager to travel with her. He spent much time around her, even when she wasn't in White Run. He would make up excuses to go to towns he knew she was in. And it was obvious that Vilkas liked her as well. He would try to impress her by saying intelligent things, and spouting facts, which often went ignored. As she went to the door, Farkas walked in front of her opening the door and holding it. Kodlak could have sworn he saw him wink at her as she passed, to which he heard a little giggle in response. Were they… flirting with each other? No, that was impossible. Farkas never flirted with anyone, even the tavern girls, who would throw themselves at him.

* * *

"How are you liking it here?" Farkas asked, not wanting Vilkas to get the first word in. Vilkas simply stared in disbelief at his brother. Had he really just tried to one up him? Farkas simply smirked at him. Oh, it was on.

She smiled at them both, taking their breathe away, "I love it here, Carlotta gave me some fresh vegetables for my kitchen and even carved this awesome bowl for me to use, everyone's really nice and everybody hasn't even really made a big deal about me being the Dragonborn. Well… except for the guards, but its okay! They made a big deal about me moving here before we knew about that whole thing," she laughed sweetly, "so it isn't a problem."

They walked down past the street with the vendors, who all waved to her as she passed. The little khajit never looked bothered by everyone talking to her, though she seemed like she was on guard. She patted the children running past her on their heads, and even slipped a coin to Brenuin when he grunted and tried to cope a feel. Farkas couldn't help but growl at him and tower over him in his full plate. Instead of calling him out, or acting like he was being cruel, she simply patted his arm and took his hand, whispering things to him like he was an upset child. Vilkas stared at their hands linked, and frowned watching her happily swing their arms.

They came to her house and she fumbled with the key, much to the boys' amusement. They could tell she was flustered at the thought of having people in her home.

"I'm sorry… I know its not terribly clean," she stuttered slightly, as she walked in.

Her home was well lit from the little fire in the pit, and it was, despite what she had kept letting on, very clean and decorated accordingly. She had different bottles of wines and meads on her shelves, and a particularly rare cognac on the very top shelf beside some bottles of spiced red wine. Farkas couldn't help but stare. Meanwhile, Vilkas had busied himself looking over all the books in the shelves. He had never seen some of these titles, one caught his attention, a novel wrote about the Dwemer and their lost society. Where had she acquired this? He knew of one other copy, and it was locked away in the College of Winterhold. Had she stolen this? _No_, he thought to himself, _she is above stealing_. She must have found it on one of her great expeditions. There were troll skulls lined up by the fireplace among some different fur pelts, one which they recognized as a winter bear.

She had set to stirring the pot on the skewers over the fire, and was adding some dried herbs. She held out a ladle full of some kind of stew, which Vilkas beat Farkas to. He tasted meat of some kind, and wine. It was delicious. He wondered if she would let him stay for dinner.

"I have enough for the three of us and I really don't want to eat alone," she voiced, rubbing the back of her head, "please stay, I'll even find some Nord mead if I have to."

It didn't take much convincing for them to stay. They sat at the table, with her between them, carefully ladling out the soup into bowls. She put them on plates with halves of bread and cheese on them and handed them to the pair.

"I'm sorry, I know it isn't much. It's all I could afford." She giggled, like she thought it was silly. Or was that sadness? "After Proventus sold me the house I didn't have enough to buy the upgrades. He said he would give them to me and I could pay him back later, but it didn't feel right. I told him I'd be okay. I'm going to be heading up the mountain anyways in a bit. I have a falmer infestation to deal with. Hopefully after that I can buy some of the upgrades… and maybe a bed or something"

Farkas dropped his spoon. She was already leaving again? Sometimes when she would go out to do things she wouldn't be back for weeks. Did she mean it was one of those trips? If so, when would she be back? He decided to ask a question he wasn't sure on how she would respond to.

"I'm coming with you." Okay, so it was more like he was telling her something. "You're going to need help."

She nodded and got up, picking the bowls up. "Vilkas, if you would like, you could come too-" He cut her off, seeming angry and a little confused.

"No! I'll just stay here and be by myself! Have fun brother!" Vilkas didn't realize it but he was shouting. Was it the thought of her being gone, or the thought that he hadn't asked to go with her first that upset him so much? He knew she had a one companion limit, as she felt three people were too many for these sorts of adventures.

"Vilkas… its okay. I'm sorry. How about when I get back we go up to Dragon's Reach and sit on the roof? We can watch the stars and I can show you that new book I picked up for you." She smiled so genuinely that it nearly made him blush. He nodded, getting up and leaving. They would want to prepare for the trip before they left. He felt jealous that his brother got to spend so much time with her. He only saw her when she made trips to White Run and even then he tried to keep a certain distance. He didn't want to make it obvious to Aela or Skjor how he felt. They would simply make fun of him. The last girl he tried to woo ended up stabbing his face.

* * *

Farkas watched as the khajit girl pulled her necklace off and began to unclothe in a corner with her back to him. She was so trusting of him. She dressed very simply. She had on a wrap around her chest and lower torso and as he stared as he realized that her pale white fur almost resembled skin. She rubbed an arm, obviously sore from something, and looked at her leather armor seeming to dread it.

"You should rest before we go." He said aloud. "I can't remember the last time I saw you rest in Jorrvaskr."

"I don't like those beds, besides," she purred, "the grass is much more comfortable."

She had been sleeping outside? All those times he'd seen her if he'd have known where she was sleeping he'd have taken her to Jorrvaskr and forced her into a bed and… _and what?_ Wait, why had his mind gone there… _Damn it!_ He tried to prevent his mind from wandering toward that behavior. She was so innocent and he didn't want to think of her that way. Even if that was how he felt. Holding her hand was one thing, hell even watching her undress didn't bother him half as much, though it didn't help when she was in such revealing clothing. But thinking of forcing himself upon her was disrespectful.

"I know there isn't much space yet, I'm sorry." She sat in a pile of furs, and pulled one up around herself, putting her back to him. "You're welcome to find an open spot and get comfortable." As soon as the words left her lips he could hear a bit of purring and see her paws kneading the fur as she snored in a very cute fashion.

As it happened, the only 'open spot,' was next to her. Farkas took his armor off as quietly as he could and placed it nearby, in case he needed it. He didn't often get out of his armor, underneath he wore a cotton shirt with cut off sleeves and a pair of roughed up spun leggings. Taking up the bit of space beside her back he leaned up against the wall in the enclosed little shack she called home and watched her sleep. _How could this tiny, sweet girl have him wrapped around her finger so easily?_

* * *

He could feel someone gently pressing into him and it was obvious as to who it was. The khajit pushed her face into his shirt, purring loudly as he woke up. He was familiar with her lying beside him and waking to the sound of her moaning and making noises similar to the purr. He found it incredibly soothing. They had slept for perhaps three hours and it was growing dark out. Farkas got up, careful to not wake her yet. He would pack their usual supplies and then come get here. She had to be exhausted from finding out about being Dragonborn, and from traveling so much. Before he could leave though he could hear her rousing.

"Go back to sleep."

She made a sort of whimpering noise as he heard the lightning in the distance. And he knew that was what had woken her up. For someone so brave and willing to risk her life she was very child-like. Perhaps that was what kept him coming back to her? _Because he knew she needed someone to protect her._ He went back to her, sitting beside her. Before he could protest, she slid into his lap and pressed her head up under his chin. She was burning hot to the touch. He recoiled his hands from her waist, only to find her nuzzling into his clothing and playing with the fabric between her fingers.

"Don't go." It was all she needed to say.

He wrapped his arms around her and smiled as she closed her eyes once more. Snow began to fall outside and it made him think of her namesake. Eirlys. So fitting for someone like her. She said it meant snowdrop in her home language. She was very much like a snowdrop, not just in color but in behavior. The way her blue eyes could see past his exterior, and into his very soul, how she spoke to those she knew and even those whom she didn't. When they weren't in Jorrvaskr or in sight of people, he would call her Eira for short. It sounded more appropriate to him, and he could pronounce it better. He remembered the first time he had met her, how he stared at her in disbelief as she bested his brother and so easily won over his friends. Even Athis had taken to her relatively quickly, and he didn't really like anyone. When he went to speak to her that night as she was leaving to seek out a friend, he tried to say her name. It stuck in his throat and when he managed to say it, he called it out wrongly. She could have been easily upset, for what he called her resembled a very cruel word. She simply smiled and said,

"_Please, you may call me Eira. I understand, it isn't easy to pronounce." _

The words caught as he spoke them, he wasn't used to feeling like this. She told him of how she'd never seen the homelands for the khajit. Skyrim was her homeland, in her mind, and it didn't matter whether she was a cat person or not. She'd been born and raised in Riften and traveled the whole Rift by the time she'd turned seventeen. It was a rite of passage for the caravan she'd grew up traveling with.

Ever since he'd met her, he would wait anxiously outside of Jorrvaskr to see the white fur he had come to know so well racing by to head up to Dragon's Reach. The Jarl had taken quite a liking to her and it made him nervous. But he knew he was a good man so he thought nothing of it. When he would ask her to go on quests for the Companions, instead of resisting like some of the new members, she would request he come with her so she could have some company. She wasn't high maintenance. She was lonely.

The shaking thunder in the distance brought him back from his thoughts as she curled closer to him. He had first found her afraid of storms when they were out in Morthal taking care of a vampire master. They had defeated Movarth and were getting ready to leave, when lightning went off outside the cavern. Eira had jumped so high he thought she would stick to the ceiling. At first he thought maybe it was something she'd seen, like a frostbite spider (he could understand that), but as she jumped in unison with another strike in the distance he realized what it was. She ran back past the survivors and dove down into some remnants of wooden carts, hiding and trembling. He went back to her and crouched listening to her pray in a foreign language. All he knew to do was put his hand on her shoulder. It seemed enough though, as she stood.

"_Let's get these people back to Morthal."_

He'd seen someone push their fear back for the greater good once: his brother. They were in a tower fighting Silverhand members, and Vilkas had been shot by an arrow. He was afraid of not death but leaving Farkas on his own. He'd fought through it all. They were similar but he found her different in many aspects then his brother. Yes, they both enjoyed reading and following the stars, but she also loved doing manual labor and working the forge, and she liked climbing the trees outside White Run with Lars, and chasing the deer out on the moor, and crafting items, and gathering flowers and herbs, and… he knew so much about her. He knew her habits well, knew her smell well. She had a sweet scent surrounding her, one of lilies and orchids. He knew her aspirations, how she someday wanted to settle and own a garden shop. More than anything, she wanted a family to call her own. How he longed to fill that position.

Eira stood and walked to a shelf, pulling a box down with a ring in it. She sat back beside him and held it close, very carefully pulling the ring out.

"I found this in Mzinchaleft a couple months ago," she said very softly, "it'll keep you safe when I can't."

Farkas started to protest, to insist that she was the one who needed him around, but he stayed quiet, realizing she was partially right. He took the ring from her; it was made of copper and had engravings all across it, one which he recognized as the Dwemer symbol for 'cherished one.' Had she known what it meant? It didn't matter to him. He slipped it on and felt a power surge through him, it had a health enchantment on it, he could tell.

She pulled her legs to her chest, once again showing how small she was and put her face to her knees. The storm was starting to pass and it came as a relief to her. She got back up and stretched, picking her armor up.

"It's time to go finally."

* * *

She sounded like she was looking forward to running across the lands once more. Eira slid on a shirt and some torn pants, and pulled the armor she'd had made at the Skyforge over her head. It was the first thing she'd bought when she got to White Run, she had climbed the steps behind Jorrvaskr for the first time with Vilkas' sword and when Eorlund asked her what she would like to have made, she looked at the tanning racks and requested a leather set. He had laughed at first, but once he got a good look at her he understood why. She needed a light weight set otherwise she would be weighed down. He insisted that she not pay him, but she set two septims onto the work bench and jumped down the wall instead of walking back down the stairs. He could tell she enjoyed the height of the forge, and allowed her to return often and watch him work. Sometimes he would allow her to help him, by holding things in place, or by sharpening weapons. She would surprise him and bring treats for him.

_ Most of the people in White Run love her_, thought Farkas. From their shield-siblings Aela and Njada, to the shop owners Ulfberth and Belethor (who was constantly trying to sell her something; which often worked). Even Farengar had taken to her, though after Farkas had spotted the mage staring at her from behind he had told him to stay away from her. In fact, the only person he knew of who didn't enjoy her company was Arcadia, and he had the feeling it was due to Farengar's feelings towards the young khajit. Arcadia would ignore her if she walked into the shop, and even tell her she was closed on certain occasions. For some reason, Eira seemed to know why she was upset and never held it against her. _He knew that everyone would miss her while they were away, even Arcadia._


End file.
